A few weeks ago I’ve installed the ACE XML Gateway and got immediately upset that almost all configuration is web-based. Furthermore, you have to change the configuration on the manager (using a web browser), compile it and download it to the gateways.

10 comments:

Don't worry, I thorougly enjoy your comments. You usually look at the same problem from a completely different (and always quite valid) perspective. The interesting verbalization of your point-of-view is just the icing on the cake :))

Yep, GUIs are OK, but the end result of the GUI should always be a text config, and you should be able to edit that directly if needed/desired. Having managed a couple of large WANs, there's nothing like being able to have the maintenance tech connect the new router's console to the modem, letting you drop in the backed-up configuration in a few seconds with no errors.

Regarding mspoerr's comment--the same issue that Ivan mentions regarding backups applies to the ASA. I have not found any way to completely back up an ASA that has a complex WebVPN config, since the GUI-only features create hidden directories and files in flash that can't be referenced from the CLI.

Yes, Cisco routers (and perhaps network gear in general) is easier to manage on the commandline. IOS is a wonderful, efficient tool, and I am thankful every day for it.

However, I can think of stuff I wouldn't want to work on via terminal, VMWare ESX is one product that springs to mind. The comamndline for that is awful. VirtualBox Headless is quite well written, but I'd still prefer a GUI for managing VMs.

Ivan Pepelnjak, CCIE#1354 Emeritus, is an independent network architect. He has been designing and implementing large-scale data communications networks as well as teaching and writing books about advanced technologies since 1990. See his full profile, contact him or follow @ioshints on Twitter.

The author

Ivan Pepelnjak (CCIE#1354 Emeritus), Independent Network Architect at ipSpace.net,
has been designing and implementing large-scale data communications networks as well as teaching and writing books about advanced internetworking technologies since 1990.